( dpa ) - At least 13 people were killed and 21 wounded, including US soldiers and Iraqi policeman, in separate attacks in Iraq, while dozens of suspects from the al-Qaeda terrorist network were detained, Iraqi and US officials said Thursday.
In one incident, six al-Qaeda suspects were killed and 13 were injured during a joint US-Iraqi operation in northern Baghdad, security sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"Iraqi forces along with elements of the Awakening Council, supported by US helicopters, have raided the Bishkan area, one of the major hideouts of al-Qaeda, killing six and wounding 13 terrorist suspects," an Iraqi official told dpa, referring to forces recruited by the US military to work against al-Qaeda and other militias.
"Dozens were also arrested," he added.
An Iraqi policeman and four civilians were injured in the northern city of Tikrit, when an explosive device was detonated targeting the policeman's vehicle.
Militants killed a policemen and injured two of his security guards, in another attack in the city's Qadesya district.
In Muqdadiyah city, some 100 kilometres north-east of Iraq's capital, US forces killed three suspects and arrested another four during an operation targeting al-Qaeda, according to a US military statement.
In other news, Iraqi authorities have dismissed 174 policeman in the southern city of Basra for their involvement in vice cases.
Separately, the US military announced that three soldiers were killed and two others wounded Wednesday during a military operation in the northern Salah al-din province.